A dynamic, international team

Founders

Damian Ardestani

Damian leads the Advisory Committee and AM YOU's advocacy work. He is an award-winning recording artist and producer known as XOV. After gaining global recognition for writing music to The Hunger Games soundtrack and reaching chart success in Europe, he started a successful record label in partnership with Sony Music and Universal Music Group. Prior to his break-through in the music industry, he was a successful entrepreneur leading several companies for over a decade. His family came to Sweden as refugees from Iran when he was one.

Rebecca Reshdouni

Rebecca is responsible for overseeing the operations in Greece, international partnerships and the operations in Sweden. She has a wide range of experience in project management as well as a deeper understanding of immigration matters from her work at the Asylum Procedures Unit at the Swedish Migration Agency. Additionally, Rebecca gained excellent leadership and communication skills through her experience from the financial services sector. Her family came to Sweden as Armenian immigrants from Iraq and Syria before she was born.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Advisory Committee consists of a carefully selected group of experts who volunteer their time, knowledge and experience to provide mentorship and advice to the Founders, helping them build I AM YOU into an impactful NGO in service to humanity.

Amy Rao

Board of Directors, Human Rights Watch

Amy is the Founder and CEO of Integrated Archive Systems. She has a long history of involvement in democratic politics in the USA and actively advocates for stronger human rights sitting on multiple boards in the human rights sector.

Palo Alto, United States

Peter Bouckaert

Director of Emergencies, Human Rights Watch

Peter is the Director of Emergencies at HRW and an expert in humanitarian crises. Peter previously specialized in the laws of war and is a veteran of fact-finding missions to many war zones and conflict areas across the world.

Geneva, Belgium

Jay Halfon, United States

General Counsel, Sustainable Markets Foundation

Jay is an attorney representing leading foundations, charities and advocacy groups. He has extensive experience in philanthropy and non-profit management. Jay serves as director and general counsel of Sustainable Markets Foundation, a § 501(c)(3) charitable organization that serves as host and sponsor for I AM YOU

New York, United States

Kimberly Emerson

Board of Directors, Human Rights Watch

Kimberly was a US Diplomat and is the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Germany. She still hosts official events weekly on behalf of the US Government. Kimberly sits on many boards for human rights and international policy.

Los Angeles, United States

Dr. Eslam El-Soudani

University Lecturer, Islamic Studies

Eslam carried out extensive work in the refugee crisis in Greece with NGOs including UNHCR and MSF. Eslam has a PHD in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies and now teaches Islam in History in London, United Kingdom.

London, United Kingdom

SPONSORED STAFF

In creating a long-term plan for I AM YOU, dedicated volunteers were recruited to stay on in key roles geared towards achieving our mission. Together, these responsibilities oversee our core programs and ensure our volunteers are well equipped to bring our values to life.

Eleni Eseri

Lifelines Project Manager

Eleni's ensures the smooth running of the Lifelines program so that we can maximise the number of residents we can support. This entails liasing with other NGOs and local services so that access can be provided efficiently.

Chalkida, Greece

Katy Hughes

Education Project Manager

Katy is responsible for developing and overseeing the Education Support Program. An essential part is working with the camp community and local Greek community to develop a long-term curriculum.

London, United Kingdom

Katina Saoulli

Executive Director

Katina has an extensive management background. She oversees all I AM YOU programs and operations in Greece and ensures strategic delivery of our ethos and projects. Works with the management team to ensure that all targets are met.

Nicosia, Cyprus

Oliver Nassar

Field Coordinator

Oliver is responsible for the smooth running of all operations on the site that I AM YOU is involved in. This includes working with other key partners and organizations, ensuring all the programs are running well. He also deals with all security and safety concerns for the organisation.

Toronto, Canada

Filip Soszynski

Volunteer Coordinator

Filip is responsible for recruiting all translators and volunteers, and supports them on their way to Greece. He conducts all inductions, takes care of the volunteer related logistics, transport and accomodation. He also oversees all the volunteers on and off site. Furthermore, he deals with day to day tasks, and helps the Field Coordinator and rest of the team, whenever needed.

MalmöUniversity, Sweden

INTERNS

Part of our longer term planning also allows for the role of interns to come in and learn from the ethos of the organisation. We find that interns are always eager to contribute and have a massive potential to make a difference in their future career path.